Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in a population, scaled to the size
of that population, per unit of time.
Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year;
thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 in a population of 1,000 would mean 9.5 deaths per year in
that entire population, or 0.95% out of the total.
It is distinct from morbidity rate, which refers to the number of individuals in poor
health during a given time period or the number of newly appearing cases of the disease per
unit of time.
The term "mortality" is also sometimes inappropriately used to refer to the number of deaths among
a set of diagnosed hospital cases for a disease or injury, rather than for the general population
of a country or ethnic group.
This disease mortality statistic is more precisely referred to as "case fatality rate".
One distinguishes: The crude death rate, the total number of
deaths per year per 1,000 people.
As of 2014 the crude death rate for the whole world is 7.89 per 1,000 according to the current
CIA World Factbook.
Note that the crude death rate can be misleading.
The crude death rate depends on the age specific mortality rates and the age distribution of
the population.
The number of deaths per 1,000 people can be higher in developed nations than in less-developed
countries, despite a higher life expectancy in developed countries due to better standards
of health.
This happens because developed countries typically have a much higher proportion of older people,
due to both lower birth rates and lower mortality rates.
A more complete picture of mortality is given by a life table, which shows the mortality
rate separately for each age.
A life table is necessary to give a good estimate of life expectancy.
The perinatal mortality rate, the sum of neonatal deaths and fetal deaths per 1,000 births.
The maternal mortality ratio, the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in
same time period.
The maternal mortality rate, the number of maternal deaths per 1,000 women of reproductive
age in the population . The infant mortality rate, the number of deaths
of children less than 1 year old per 1,000 live births.
The child mortality rate, the number of deaths of children less than 5 years old per 1,000
live births.
The standardised mortality ratio- This represents a proportional comparison to the numbers of
deaths that would have been expected if the population had been of a standard composition
in terms of age, gender, etc.
The age-specific mortality rate - This refers to the total number of deaths per year per
1,000 people of a given age.
In regard to the success or failure of medical treatment or procedures, one would also distinguish:
The early mortality rate, the total number of deaths in the early stages of an ongoing
treatment, or in the period immediately following an acute treatment.
The late mortality rate, the total number of deaths in the late stages of an ongoing
treatment, or a significant length of time after an acute treatment.
Statistics
The ten countries with the highest crude death rate, according to the 2012 CIA World Factbook
estimates, are: See list of countries by death rate for worldwide
statistics.
According to the World Health Organization, the ten leading causes of death in 2002 were:
12.6% Ischaemic heart disease 9.7% Cerebrovascular disease
6.8% Lower respiratory infections 4.9% HIV/AIDS
4.8% Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 3.2% Diarrhoeal diseases
2.7% Tuberculosis 2.2% Trachealung cancers
2.2% Malaria 2.1% Road traffic accidents
Causes of death vary greatly between first and third world countries.
See list of causes of death by rate for worldwide statistics.
According to Jean Ziegler, mortality due to malnutrition accounted for 58% of the total
mortality in 2006: "In the world, approximately 62 millions people, all causes of death combined,
die each year.
In 2006, more than 36 millions died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies in micronutrients".
Of the roughly 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, about two thirds—100,000
per day—die of age-related causes.
In industrialized nations, the proportion is much higher, reaching 90%.
Use in Health Care Early recording of mortality rate in European
cities proved highly useful in controlling the plague and other major epidemics.
Public health in industrialized countries was transformed when mortality rate as a function
of age, sex and socioeconomic status emerged in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
This track record has led to the argument that inexpensive recording of vital statistics
in developing countries may become the most effective means to improve global health.
Gathering official mortality statistics can be very difficult in developing countries,
where many individuals lack the ability or knowledge to report incidences of death to
National Vital Statistics Registries.
This can lead to distortion in mortality statistics and a wrongful assessment of overall health.
Studies conducted in northeastern Brazil, where underreporting of infant mortality is
of huge concern, have shown that alternative methods of data collection, including the
use of “popular Death Reporters”, have been very successful in providing valid, qualitative
mortality statistics, effectively reducing underreporting.
See also Biodemography
Birth rate Case fatality
Compensation law of mortality Death
Demography Gompertz-Makeham law of mortality
Life expectancy List of causes of death by rate
List of countries by birth rate List of countries by death rate
Maximum life span Micromort
Morbidity Mortality displacement
Risk adjusted mortality rate Vital Statistics
References
Other Sources Crude death rate based on World Population
Prospects The 2008 Revision, United Nations.
Retrieved 22 June 2010 Rank Order - Death rate in CIA World Factbook
Mortality in The Medical Dictionary, Medterms.
Retrieved 22 June 2010 "WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports,
1999 - 2007", US Centers for Disease Control Retrieved 22 June 2010
Edmond Halley, An Estimate of the Degrees of the Mortality of Mankind
External links DeathRiskRankings: Calculates risk of dying
in the next year using MicroMorts and displays risk rankings for up to 66 causes of death
Data regarding death rates by age and cause in the United States
Complex Emergency Database: Mortality data from conflict-affected populations
Human Mortality Database: Historic mortality data from developed nations
Google - public data: Mortality in the U.S.